In left ventricular hypertrophy, the myocardium of the left ventricle becomes thickened to the point of interfering with effective heart contraction. A surgical procedure for treating congestive heart failure, involves removing a triangular portion of a patient's heart. In this operation, approximately one-third of the patient's left ventricular muscle is removed. The result is that the smaller heart pumps more efficiently. This new technique of course requires open-heart surgery, with its attendant expense and extended convalescence.
One method to reduce ventricular volume is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,776,754 to Wilk, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
For this and other potential procedures, it would be beneficial to have a method and system that could be temporarily and/or permanently implanted to close off a portion of the ventricle.